MHSLA Scholarships

The Michigan Health Sciences Libraries Association (MHSLA) is pleased
to offer a member scholarship for the annual conference. Applicant must
be a member of MHSLA who has never attended the MHSLA annual
conference before.

The scholarship includes a full conference registration, including 1 CE
course, meetings, lodging, meals, and mileage. Scholarship awardees
are expected to write a brief summary of their conference experience for
MHSLA and assist at the registration/hospitality desk.

To apply please submit a completed application via mail, fax, or email.
The application is available on http://www.mhsla.org or download them here:

• Scholarship form for MHSLA members
• Scholarship form for library school students

(Check your desktop after clicking the link; I downloaded these 3 times before I figured out where they were going!  — Sandy)

If you have any questions about the scholarship, please contact Janet
Zimmerman, MHSLA President at janet.zimmerman@beaumont.edu

Deadline for application is Friday, August 22, 2008.

Awardees will be notified by September 3, 2008.

Janet Zimmerman, Director, Library Information Services
Beaumont Hospitals
3601 W. Thirteen Mile Rd.
Royal Oak, MI 48073-6769
248-898-1751

Evidence Based Practice Tutorial for Nurses

I recently learned of an Evidence Based Practice Tutorial for Nurses created by Penn State which I think is definitely worth checking out! It can be accessed free here: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/instruction/ebpt-07/. This was a collaborative project between the Penn State Libraries and the Department of Nursing at the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.

The aim of the tutorial is to walk nurses and nursing students through the 4 steps of EBP: 1) Forming a Clinical Question; 2) Finding the Best Evidence; 3) Appraising Results for Validity and Usefulness; and 4) Applying Findings to Clinical Practice and Evaluating Professional Performance.

In addition to detailed descriptions and examples of these four steps, there is some great additional information. The tutorial provides two clinical examples that participants can work through (worksheets are provided), using the principles and steps of EBP. Users can also learn about the Evidence Triad, Information Resources Pyramid, Appraisal Tools, and EBP Terminology. There is also a list of suggested readings.

This was the ACRL Instruction Section’s PRIMO (Peer-Reviewed Instruction Materials Online) site of the month in June, 2008. An interview with some of the creators of this tutorial is available here.

Medical News of the Obvious

ACP Internist Blog offers a weekly post titled Medical News of the Obvious. Recent posts report on studies telling us that:

• automobile deaths decline as gas prices rise because there are fewer people on the roads to kill or be killed
• teenage girls are susceptible to peer pressure
• erectile dysfunction is lower in men who have intercourse more often
• whether a person votes or not is largely determined by genetics

JCAHO Standards Revisions

The June/July 2008 issue of MLA News reports on the 2009 revisions to the Comprehensive Accreditation Manual for Hospitals.  The Joint Commission’s Standards Improvement Initiative proposed to “enhance the clarity and objectivity of the standards….”  The Knowledge-Based Information standard is now incorporated in standard IM.03.01.01 (that KBI resources are available, current & authoritative) and includes 2 EPs (elements of performance) requiring 24/7 availability and cooperative/contractual arrangements with other institutions to provide those not available on-site.  The article points out that library services support many of the other Joint Commission standards, such as those referencing clinical practice guidelines.

Frumento KS:  The Joint Commission Standards Improvement Initiative: What does it mean for hospital librarians? MLA News 2008 Jun/Jul; (407): 17.   URL, for MLA members who can find their passwords: http://www.mlanet.org/members/mla_news/2008/jun_jul_08/hosp_lib.html

EBSCOhost 2.0 – Coming Soon!

If your Library has CINAHL or any other databases through EBSCO, get ready for a new interface -EBSCOhost 2.0. EBSCOhost 2.0 will most likely be implemented this month. Some of the notable changes include:

• A simplified Basic Search Screen
• Limits displayed in two columns
• Enhanced Folders
• Search History Preview above Results list
• Date Slide Limiter (coming September 2008): Allows one to limit to a specific date range, right from results list.
• Preview Pane Icon: Hovering over this icon shows a more detailed preview of individual records without leaving the results page.
• How to Cite: Provides users with help on how to cite results from your EBSCO database according to several bibliographic formats (APA, AMA, MLA, etc).
• Similar Articles: Selecting an individual record reveals a list of accessible, similar articles.
• Image Quick View: Preview thumbnails of images from certain PDF articles, right from results list.
• Link consistency: Persistent link will now be the same as the link shown in the URL box (especially relevant for those who use a Proxy/EZ Proxy server).

If you currently subscribe to any of the EBSCO databases, you should be able to try out the Beta version of EBSCOhost 2.0. From an EBSCO database, select the ‘New Features’ link at the top of the page. You should then see an option to ‘Test Drive’ EBSCOhost 2.0.

For those of you who have tried it out, what do you think? I think the updated appearance looks clean and organized and am excited to keep trying some of the new features. But, I don’t particularly like that the Navigation Tabs under the search box(es) are simply blue links in white background (used to be different colored tabs). Similarly, I think it will take some time getting used to the ‘Refine Search’ Tab no longer being there (you can access all limits by selecting the ‘Advanced Search’ Tab or by selecting the ‘Revise Search’ link from the Search History/Alerts Tab). Also, in CINAHL, I wasn’t able to see the ‘Similar Articles’ feature. When I went into an EBSCO communications database that the MSU Libraries subscribes to, however, the ‘Similar Articles’ feature was visible and working! Perhaps this feature will be implemented a few months after the release?

You can find out much more here: www.ebscohost.com/2.0.

Upcoming PubMed Search Clinic

Attention PubMed users! Have you noticed the recent changes to PubMed, including the beta Advanced Search page and the changes to the automatic term mapping process? Would you like to know more?

On Thursday, July 17th at 2 p.m. EST, there will be a free online search clinic addressing these recent changes. This session, presented by the National Library of Medicine and the National Training Center and Clearinghouse, will discuss the changes to the automatic term mapping process, the citation sensor, and the beta Advanced Search page.

This online session will use Adobe® Connect™ and will last 30 minutes. There’s no registration required – you may enter as a guest. Due to technical limitations, the live session will only be able to support the first 300 participants. If you can’t attend this search clinic on the 17th or aren’t one of the first 300 participants, don’t worry! The session will be recorded and available on-demand after the 17th.

For more information and directions on how to access this online search clinic, visit this page from the NLM: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/disted/clinics/pmupdate08.html.

Nominate a MHSLA Librarian of the Year

To all MHSLA Members:
It’s that time of year again to honor one of our colleagues as MHSLA’s Librarian of the Year.  The criteria for the award is as follows:
Purpose
This career award recognizes a librarian (MLS or equivalent) for outstanding leadership and accomplishment in library service.
Criteria
1. The librarian must be an active member of MHSLA.
2. Criteria for recognition involve contributions to the profession and to one’s community, such as:
a. Distinguished service to the profession; outstanding participation in activities of professional associations; and notable publications, presentations and projects.
b. Dedicated leadership and vision in health sciences libraries including automation technology, management, networking, education or service.
c. Active support of and participation in MHSLA.
d. Enhancement, expansion and interpretation of library service to the community and/or strengthening of the library’s role and position in the community.
e. Development of innovative programs that have benefited MHSLA members
Guidelines
1. Nominations are accepted from MHSLA members. Individuals may self-nominate.
2. 3. The MHSLA Executive Board will select the Librarian of the Year from the pool of candidates nominated, by an all-Board vote.
4. All nominations and supporting documentation are considered confidential.
5. The award shall be presented by the President at the Annual MHSLA Education Conference meeting.
6. Re-nominations may occur.
Please submit a narrative format about the nominee and submit it to Janet Zimmerman (janet.zimmerman@beaumont.edu) by August 1, 2008 to be considered.  
We look forward to recognizing one of our outstanding members in this annual event.  Thanks for making MHSLA such a great organization.
  
Janet Zimmerman, Director, Library Information Services
Beaumont Hospitals
3601 W. Thirteen Mile Rd.
Royal Oak, MI 48073-6769
248-898-1751
janet.zimmmerman@beaumont.edu

MHSLA Research Committee Poster Wins Award at MLA ’08!

Congratulations to Misa Mi, Sandy Swanson, and Marie-Lise Shams, whose poster, “Health Sciences Librarians in Michigan: Connecting to Emerging 2.0 Technologies”, won the Hospital Librarians Research Award at the MLA ’08 Poster Session in Chicago! A PDF version of their award-winning poster can be seen here. Wonderful job!

A complete list of poster and paper winners from MLA ’08 can be found on the MLA Research Section’s 2008 Awards page or in the July 3rd, 2008 edition of MLA-Focus, available only to MLA members here.

Blogging – good for your mental health!

Scientists (and writers) have long known about the therapeutic benefits of writing about personal experiences, thoughts and feelings. But besides serving as a stress-coping mechanism, expressive writing produces many physiological benefits….Scientists now hope to explore the neurological underpinnings at play, especially considering the explosion of blogs.

A recent article in Scientific American notes: Blogging–It’s good for you. The article further reports that:

Some hospitals have started hosting patient-authored blogs on their Web sites as clinicians begin to recognize the therapeutic value. Unlike a bedside journal, blogging offers the added benefit of receptive readers in similar situations, Morgan explains: “Individuals are connecting to one another and witnessing each other’s expressions—the basis for forming a community.”

I’m off on vacation next week, and sharing MHSLA Blog’s mental health benefits: Heidi Schroeder, Health Sciences Librarian at Michigan State University Libraries will be filling in. Welcome, Heidi!

Sandy Swanson

ALA2008: Top Technology Trends

LITA Blog has posted summaries of ALA 2008′s Top Technology Trends presentations. Interesting reading, for those of us treading water to keep up…

Sarah Houghton-Jan‘s trends:

1. Bandwidth
2. Sustainability
3. Looking away from the bright shiny things and at ourselves instead
4. Catalogs
5. Open access content

Virtual Karen’s Top Tech Trends

1. APIs
2. Virtual participation in classes & conferences
3. Mobile devices & technologies

Eric Lease Morgan’s trends

1. Bling in your website
2. Data sets
3. Institutional repositories
4. Mobile devices
5. Net neutrality
6. Next generation library catalogs
7. Open access publishing
8. Social networking
9. Web-services based APIs